Charles River Laboratories vs Waters
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Charles River Laboratories and Waters side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Charles River Laboratories is the larger business, with $4.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.2B for Waters.
- Waters grew revenue faster (7.0%, against −0.9%).
- Waters kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (25.4% operating margin, against 0.6%).
- Waters turned more of its sales into free cash flow (17.1% FCF margin, against 12.9%).
- Waters earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (21.0%, against 0.4%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Charles River Laboratories
CRL
2/10
5-year growthShare count change
Waters
WAT
8/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CRL FY25 | WAT FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $17.1B | $44.8B |
| Revenue | $4.0B | $3.2B |
| Free cash flow | $518M | $540M |
| Net income | −$144M | $643M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −0.9% | 7.0% |
| 5-year growth | 6.6% | 6.0% |
| Share count change | −4.0% | 0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 59.3% |
| Operating margin | 0.6% | 25.4% |
| Net margin | −3.6% | 20.3% |
| FCF margin | 12.9% | 17.1% |
| Return on capital | 0.4% | 21.0% |
| Return on equity | −4.4% | 29.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.9B | $822M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.5x | 0.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $361M | $14.7M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.